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Suffolk Blue wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 3:16 pm My mistake. However the main point still applies. Very few if anybody on this forum would have had the first clue as to whether these two would’ve been able to do the business or fit into the squad until they started to perform. Apart from the clubs they came from and that is not necessarily a good indicator.

All I’m suggesting is that for a bulk of the clubs in League 2 the margins between success and abject failure are pretty small. And that these margins have to be revisited at the beginning of each season as players come and go.

FWIW I also think that after a season of relative tranquility we may return to a situation where one or more clubs in L1/L2 have very severe operating issues. In a League of great visible wealth I think that as in life this will disguise the massive gap with those at the other end of the financial spectrum.

In these circumstances maintaining a tight cohesive squad with a good manager is about as good as you can expect it to be.

That's a bit disingenuous McClelland came from a Premier league club and had played at international level and Harrison had been outstanding at National league level and because of this most fans realised we'd got 2 diamonds, so exactly where are you coming from ? ( couple of lines reply only !)

Go to pages 21 and 22 !, enjoy your humble pie

janwilder wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 10:26 am So Courtney Duffus. Between 2014-2023 he's made 42 appearance in the top 4 divisions in England and it's affiliated comps (EPL, Champ, LG1 & LG2/FA Cup, EFL Cup & EFL Trophy).

LG1 - 14 apps / 0 goals
LG2 - 19 apps / 1 goals
FA Cup - 3 apps / 0 goals
EFL Cup - 2 apps / 0 goals
EFL trophy - 4 apps / 0 goals

42 apps / 1 goal

He has a much better record in the Irish league and the National League and its respected comps.

He's got 88 apps / 33 goals

However, he does look like a big physical bloke, as others have alluded to.

Fingers crossed he can stay fit also, after his recent ACL at Morecambe

Let's us pray

Yes we seem to bring in donkeys Moyo Zanzala and Garner at least Bob Ledger got 2 goals in his debut never to score again.

Nice to see the good old 'positivity' back on the forum!

Let's be honest though, you don't offer a one year contract to a player you want as your main striker do you? He'll be a squad player at first and we will take it from there.

Matty wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 10:16 pm Let's be honest though, you don't offer a one year contract to a player you want as your main striker do you? He'll be a squad player at first and we will take it from there.

Our system will give him chances on a plate if he has positional awareness and prepared to battle it out with central defenders.

The No. 9 shirt being lined up for this lad.

It’s on.

bluessupporter wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 9:35 pm Nice to see the good old 'positivity' back on the forum!

There is positivity and delusional.
It's not as though we are little Barrow anymore .
To maintain a upward movement your better players want to stay and you bring in better
We need a proven striker

Matty wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 10:16 pm Let's be honest though, you don't offer a one year contract to a player you want as your main striker do you? He'll be a squad player at first and we will take it from there.

Or maybe because he had an ACL injury last year they have said let’s just prove you are totally clear of the injury over a prolonged period, hence the one year club option. The club can extend the contract if happy. It is called being shrewd in my eyes

Pedro wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 11:53 pm
We need a proven striker

As does every football club!

bluessupporter wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 9:53 am

Pedro wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 11:53 pm
We need a proven striker

As does every football club!

Grimsby’s chairman wrote an interesting piece in the Guardian t’other day, pointed out the obsession people have with WE NEED A 20 GOAL A SEASON STRIKER!!! before pointing out that Plymouth won L1 with a top scorer with 13 goals; Orient won L2 with nobody in double figures. We need more goals in our team but it doesn’t necessarily mean signing a proven bagsman. If we can work out how to get more goals from midfield and the defence, that’s just as good.

Lancaster Branch wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 12:07 pm

bluessupporter wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 9:53 am

As does every football club!

Grimsby’s chairman wrote an interesting piece in the Guardian t’other day, pointed out the obsession people have with WE NEED A 20 GOAL A SEASON STRIKER!!! before pointing out that Plymouth won L1 with a top scorer with 13 goals; Orient won L2 with nobody in double figures. We need more goals in our team but it doesn’t necessarily mean signing a proven bagsman. If we can work out how to get more goals from midfield and the defence, that’s just as good.

Absolutely ! Lack of goals and assists from White, Gotts, Neal and Foley was notable . We should be getting at least 12 goals from midfield in addition to the ones scored by Gordon, Waters, Kay and Whitfield. And Brough I don’t think scored in his last 2 seasons ? It would make a massive difference if a few more can chip in .

Lancaster Branch wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 12:07 pm

Grimsby’s chairman wrote an interesting piece in the Guardian t’other day, pointed out the obsession people have with WE NEED A 20 GOAL A SEASON STRIKER!!! before pointing out that Plymouth won L1 with a top scorer with 13 goals; Orient won L2 with nobody in double figures. We need more goals in our team but it doesn’t necessarily mean signing a proven bagsman. If we can work out how to get more goals from midfield and the defence, that’s just as good.

Good points. Perhaps Pedro should take note!

Plymouth's top goal scorers were all strikers - Ryan Hardie with 13, Niall Ennis with 12 and Morgan Whittaker with 9. I watched a few of them go in too

Pedro made a valid point. We need a proven goal scorer. Over the years we've had some cracking strikers - Jimmy Mulholland, Jimmy Mulvaney, Tony Field, Cowps, Andy Cook, Byron Harrison and Scott Quiqley to name a few. Of the aforementioned, only Quiqley didn't have a good track record. And we all know who got the best out of him. Not sure if Peter Wild has that quality of man management - yet.

Over the last couple of seasons we seem to have been signing strikers who are either way past their best or never had much to offer in the first place. Their goal scoring feats can easily be found via Google.

We're not going to attract proven goal scorers from the leagues above or from our rivals. So why not sign a young 'proven' goal scorer from the leagues below? I'm sure there's a future Vardy or Bowen out there somewhere just waiting for an opportunity to excell at a higher level.

Unless we sign a 'quality' striker soon I've a feeling the 2023/24 season is going to be a struggle...

Pedro wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 8:50 pm

janwilder wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 10:26 am So Courtney Duffus. Between 2014-2023 he's made 42 appearance in the top 4 divisions in England and it's affiliated comps (EPL, Champ, LG1 & LG2/FA Cup, EFL Cup & EFL Trophy).

LG1 - 14 apps / 0 goals
LG2 - 19 apps / 1 goals
FA Cup - 3 apps / 0 goals
EFL Cup - 2 apps / 0 goals
EFL trophy - 4 apps / 0 goals

42 apps / 1 goal

He has a much better record in the Irish league and the National League and its respected comps.

He's got 88 apps / 33 goals

However, he does look like a big physical bloke, as others have alluded to.

Fingers crossed he can stay fit also, after his recent ACL at Morecambe


Let's us pray

Yes we seem to bring in donkeys Moyo Zanzala and Garner at least Bob Ledger got 2 goals in his debut never to score again.

Give Garner a chance this season before you write him off imo.

32mile_cul-de-sac wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 4:12 pm

Pedro wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 8:50 pm
Yes we seem to bring in donkeys Moyo Zanzala and Garner at least Bob Ledger got 2 goals in his debut never to score again.

Give Garner a chance this season before you write him off imo.

I get where you're coming from but can we really start this season with "well they might come good ?"

On that same level who is to say a player who scores 20 goals for a team last season would do the same at a different team the following season.

Ask Chelsea fans what they think of Chris Sutton